"Boss, who dared to hurt you?! I'll kill them!"
Inside the villa, seeing Peter covered in blood, 2B's eyes blazed with fury. Though she was technically a robot without emotions, her primary directive was to protect Peter, her creator. Therefore, anything that dared to hurt him would face her wrath—swift, lethal, and merciless.
Upon seeing Peter's battered body, her first instinct was to seek out and destroy the attacker.
"It's nothing—just superficial wounds. I'll recover with a bit of rest. As for the guy who did this... let's just say he's going to be worse off than I am. I'll take care of the revenge myself," Peter said, waving her off with a calm demeanor.
He tore open his shirt, revealing a muscular, sculpted torso. Though he had taken a direct hit from Green Goblin's pumpkin bomb, with shrapnel wounds riddling his body—some fragments still lodged deep in his flesh—his healing ability was monstrous. Thanks to his lizard-like regenerative powers, most of the damage had already healed on the way home from Osborn Tower. The remaining shrapnel was being gradually pushed out of his body, and the skin was sealing over the wounds at a visible rate.
His self-healing ability was among the most advanced, even by Marvel Universe standards.
"2B, draw me a hot bath. I need to soak for a while. After that, we're heading to the lab in Kingpin Tower."
"Understood. I'll prepare your bath right away," 2B replied, quickly heading toward the bathroom.
An hour later, on the 31st floor of Kingpin Tower, inside the biological laboratory:
2B, Felicia Hardy, and Robot Kingpin stood respectfully before Peter.
"Boss, I heard you were hurt. Is it serious? Let me see," Felicia asked with worry clouding her voice, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.
Ever since Peter had rescued her from the clutches of Kingpin, she had dedicated her life to him. In her eyes, Peter wasn't just her savior—he was the one and only man she could ever love. He meant more to her than even her own life. So hearing he had been injured shattered her heart. If she could take the pain for him, she would have done so without hesitation.
Peter, moved by her concern, gently wiped the tears from her cheeks.
"Why are you crying? I'm already fine. You, of all people, should know how tough my body is, right?" he teased with a smirk.
Felicia's mind immediately flashed back to their recent intimate moment in the bedroom. Her cheeks turned crimson.
Indeed, she had personally experienced Peter's... stamina. The man was a powerhouse—almost inhuman in strength and endurance.
"Even now, you're joking?" she pouted, rolling her eyes. "Do you know who did this to you?"
"I've got a pretty good idea, but I need confirmation. We'll have someone investigate to be sure."
"Why just 'pretty good'? Didn't you see who it was?"
"The guy wore a mask—just like I do. Can't identify someone from that alone. All I can do is make an educated guess."
"And your guess is...?"
"Norman Osborn."
"Norman Osborn? Isn't he the chairman of Osborn Group? Why would he blow up his own company? That doesn't make sense."
"Plenty of things in this world don't make sense," Peter replied, shifting his gaze toward Robot Kingpin.
"Number 1, I need a full investigation on Norman Osborn. I want to know if he's injured—especially his right arm. Report back to me immediately with any findings."
Robot Kingpin nodded and left the lab without a word.
Now, only Peter, Felicia, and 2B remained.
At that moment, Peter retrieved a small vial containing a brilliantly colored spider—the radioactive one he had collected earlier.
"Boss, why'd you bring a spider back?" Felicia asked, her curiosity piqued as she stared at the arachnid's corpse.
Peter recounted the events at Osborn Tower.
"So... Gwen's body mutated like yours? She's become a Spider-Person too?" Felicia asked.
"Probably," Peter nodded. "But we won't know for sure until we analyze her DNA."
"I mean, she must have mutated. She dented a steel golf club with one swing! Oh—she didn't hurt you, did she?"
Felicia pulled Peter close, cradling his head against her chest, gently running her fingers through his hair to check for any hidden injuries. Finding none, she let out a relieved sigh.
Meanwhile, with his face buried in her chest, Peter felt a strange heat rising within him.
"Boss, what's wrong? Your breathing's quick... Are you feeling unwell? Want me to give you a physical exam?" she teased knowingly.
"Go examine your sister!" he shot back, face flushing.
"Oh? You want to examine my little sister? Okay! Come to the bedroom with me!"
"…!"
"Okay, okay—no more jokes." Peter waved them both away. "I've got serious work to do. You two go."
Once Felicia and 2B left, Peter returned to the task at hand—developing the spider serum.
Peter had already mastered cross-species gene fusion. Theoretically, he could splice superior traits from any creature into his own DNA. But theory and practice were two different things. Real-life experimentation carried enormous risk. No matter how advanced his technology was, it couldn't guarantee stable fusion without unintended side effects or mutations.
Therefore, Peter didn't fuse genes lightly. Only when he encountered something truly extraordinary did he consider the risk worthwhile.
The radioactive spider on the lab table was exactly that—one of the rare organisms that truly intrigued him.
Without hesitation, he began extracting its genetic material.
Hours flew by. Day turned into night, and night into the following evening.
After relentless effort, Peter finally succeeded.
Before him, in a glass vial, was a glowing tube of green liquid—the spider serum he had synthesized through precise gene fusion.
One injection. That was all it would take.
According to his calculations, he had a 70% chance of gaining the enhanced abilities of the radioactive spider.
Taking a deep breath, Peter picked up the syringe. Slowly, he positioned it against the vein on his wrist.
"Spider superpowers... awaken."
He injected the serum.
And thus began the next evolution in Peter's journey.
Would the serum unlock powers beyond even his own expectations?
Or would the fusion push his already complex DNA into dangerous instability?
Only time would tell.
But one thing was certain:
This wasn't just about becoming stronger.
It was about rewriting what it meant to be Spider-Man—again.
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